Page 344 - Sports
Neymar returns as Mbappe flattens Monaco in title party
Neymar joined the Paris Saint-Germain title party on Sunday when he made his first appearance since January as Kylian Mbappe swept aside Monaco with a hat-trick in a 3-1 win for the newly-crowned Ligue 1 champions. Mbappe took his league tally for the season to 30 following his treble, which came just hours after PSG were crowned champions for the sixth time in seven years when closest challengers Lille dropped points. Neymar's return at the start of the second half replacing Layvin Kurzawa is the cherry on the cake for Thomas Tuchel's side, who had been without the Brazilian superstar since January 23 with a right foot injury. Edinson Cavani also returned to action as a second half substitute, having a late strike correctly ruled out for offside, meaning that PSG's famed front three are back together following months apart. Mbappe has thrived in the absence of his strike partners, and gave his side a 2-0 first-half lead with two neat finishes, the first coming in the 15th minute and .
Golden oldie Pizarro out to spoil Bayern's double dreams
Werder Bremen's Peruvian veteran Claudio Pizarro hopes to ruin Bayern Munich's dreams of a domestic double when he faces his old club in the German Cup semi-final this week. Pizarro is an icon at both Bayern and Bremen, having scored over 100 goals for each club, and is chasing a record ninth appearance in the German Cup final when the two teams meet in Bremen on Wednesday. In a Bundesliga career spanning two decades, the 40-year-old made over 300 appearances for Bayern and is in his fourth spell at Bremen. Bayern recently offered him a job as club ambassador after his playing career, but with a place in the German Cup final at stake on Wednesday, there is no question where Pizarro's loyalties lie this week. "If I come off the bench, it won't be easy for Bayern," said the ageing striker last week. "I texted a few of the Bayern guys after the draw. They know it won't be easy, and I think they would have preferred different opponent." The game is the second of two back-to-back clashes ..
Davies sets top four target for Spurs
Ben Davies has challenged Tottenham to win their last four Premier League games as they aim to get their top four push back on track against Brighton on Tuesday. Mauricio Pochettino's side suffered a setback in their bid to repeat their league finish for a fifth straight season when they were beaten 1-0 at Manchester City at the weekend. It was a frustrating end to a memorable week that saw Tottenham reach the Champions League semi-finals with a dramatic away goals success at City. Aided by Arsenal's surprise loss to Crystal Palace on Sunday, Tottenham remain third, but they will drop to fourth if Chelsea defeat Burnley on Monday. With the race for qualify for next season's Champions League heating up, Tottenham defender Davies knows his team have no margin for error in their remaining fixtures. Davies believes only four successive victories will be enough to secure Tottenham's place in Europe's elite club competition. "It's never easy to reflect but look, it's about kicking on and ...
Kenyan athletes dominate Rabat International Marathon
Kenyan athletes dominated Morocco's Rabat International Marathon as they swept most of the medals in both men's and women's races on Sunday.
Young tennis stars shine at ITF Junior Tournament in Botswana
Junior tennis players from around the world shone at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) J5 World Tour tournament that ended in Botswana.
RCB pull off last ball thriller against CSK
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by a single run in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Sunday.Chasing a target of 162, CSK had a very penurious start as they lost wickets of Shane Watson and Suresh Raina in the very first over bowled by Dale Steyn.The fall of wickets did not stop as CSK soon gave away wickets of Faf du Plessis and Kedar Jadhav.After six overs, CSK was at 32 runs for the loss of four wickets. Skipper MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu then formed a crucial 55 run partnership. Rayudu scored 29 runs off the same amount of deliveries before he became a victim of Yuzvendra Chahal's delivery.Ravindra Jadeja then joined the skipper and both played steadily. But due to lack of coordination between the two, Jadeja lost wicket through a runout.Dwayne Bravo joined Dhoni and stitched a 25-run partnership. Dhoni played a knock of 84 runs but the best finisher in the world was unable to finish the match for his side as they fell one run ...
Dhoni's heroics in vain, RCB clinch last-ball thriller
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's scintillating 48-ball unbeaten 84 went in vain as his side failed to cross the line by just one run in yet another edge-of-the-seat contest against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Sunday.
Asian Athletics C'ships: Indians bag 5 medals including two silvers on opening day
Javelin thrower Annu Rani and 3000m steeple chaser Avinash Sable led the charge with a silver each as India won five medals on the opening day of the Asian Athletics Championships on Sunday. Quartermiler M P Poovamma, 5000m runner Parul Choudhary and 10000m runner Gavit Murali Kumar bagged a bronze each on a day which saw sprint sensation Hima Das suffer a lower back spasm during her 400m heat. However there was no such worry for Dutee Chand as she smashed her own national record in 100m dash to qualify for the semifinals. The 26-year-old Annu, who had won a bronze in the 2017 edition in Bhubaneswar, hurled the spear to a best distance of 60.22m to grab the silver. China's Lyu Huihui won the gold with an effort of 65.83m at the Khalifa Stadium. Annu's performance was, however, more than 2m short of her national record shattering effort of 62.34m during the Federation Cup at Patiala last month, which earned her a berth in the World Championships to be held at the same venue in ...
MS gave us a massive scare: Kohli
Mahendra Singh Dhoni did what he does best, give opposition a massive scare, said Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli after his team beat CSK by one run in an IPL humdinger on Sunday. "A whole lot of emotions," said Kohli when asked about what he was going through after yet another last-ball thriller. "We were outstanding with the ball until the 19th over mark. On the last ball, that (run-out) was the last thing I would have expected to happen. Feels good to win a game by a small margin. MS did what he does best and he gave us all a massive scare," said Kohli at the post-match presentation ceremony. Dhoni, who nearly won the match for CSK with a magnificent 84 not out off 48 balls, felt that they missed a few boundaries earlier on which cost them dearly. "A lot of boundaries were needed, right now you can calculate, one run there, and two runs there and we just lost by one run. But you can also say we missed some boundaries," Dhoni said.
RCB just about manage to beat 'MSD' in a thriller
Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the umpteenth time was in line to pull off another incredible chase but finally ran out of luck as Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to beat CSK by one run in another last-ball IPL thriller on Sunday. Chasing a target of 162, CSK needed a near-impossible 26 off the last over bowled by Umesh Yadav and Dhoni with 84 off 48 balls that had seven sixes showed that nothing is indeed impossible until the Cricketing Gods intervened. Only that Dhoni was at the crease and having consumed dot balls off the previous over, he had to go for the jugular and boy he did it with three sixes and a four. With two needed off the last ball and Umesh looking increasingly helpless, he maneged to bowl a slower delivery and Dhomi missed it only for Parthiv Patel to effect a run-out as non-striker Shardul Thakur inches out of his crease. In the end it was Dhoni who lost to RCB, who eked out their third win of the tournament. It could have been an easy win in the manner Dale Steyn ...
No team is favourite for World Cup, says Shoaib Malik
Pakistan batsman Shoaib Malik enunciated that 'no team is favourite' and every team will have to struggle in the forthcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's Cricket World Cup."All teams at the World Cup are strong and there will be no fluke and no team is favourite. Everyone has to struggle, and under English conditions, rainy weather may create problems for any team on a given day," ICC quoted Malik, as saying.Malik's performance has not been great this year as he has just scored 197 runs from seven innings. These numbers have brought the Pakistan veteran under a lot of criticism.However, Malik has denied focussing on the things being said about him and said that he will focus on how he can perform better in the premier tournament."I don't focus on what is being said about me, but rather focus on how I can perform on a consistent basis. If I think this is my last World Cup, I wouldn't do well. Rather, I am going to take it as if I am beginning my career," Malik ...
Asian Athletics Championships: Annu, Parul, Poovamma open India's medal account
Javelin thrower Annu Rani, steeple chaser Avinash Sable won a silver each while 5000m runner Parul Choudhary and quartermiler M R Povamma grabbed bronze medals on the opening day of the Asian Athletics Championships on Sunday. On a day which saw sprint sensation Hima Das suffer a lower back spasm while runner her quartermile event, Dutee Chand smashed her own national record in 100m dash to qualify for the semifinals. The 26-year-old Annu, who had won a bronze in the 2017 edition in Bhubaneswar, hurled the spear to a best distance of 60.22m to grab the silver. China's Lyu Huihui won the gold with an effort of 65.83m at the Khalifa Stadium. Annu's performance was, however, more than 2m short of her national record shattering effort of 62.34m during the Federation Cup at Patiala last month, which earned her a berth in the World Championships to be held at the same venue in September-October. "I was keen on doing well as I knew I had trained well for the event. I was pumped up and would .
Everton hands Manchester United a 4-0 defeat
Manchester United suffered an embarrassing 4-0 defeat against Everton at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Sunday.Everton's Richarlison scored the opening goal of the match when it was just 13 minutes into the game. Gylfi Sigurdsson scored another brilliant goal bringing the score to 2-0 and handed his team a two-goal lead after the conclusion of the first half.The second half too started in the same manner as the Lucas Digne and Theo Walcott added two more goals to their side at the 56th and 64th minutes, respectively.This four-goal lead was maintained throughout and as a result, Everton handed Manchester United a humiliating 4-0 defeat. Debilitated Manchester United was unable to shot the target until the 86th minute.This was their sixth loss in eight games. Moreover, Manchester United has been already eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Barcelona in the quarter-finals.Manchester United, who are placed on the sixth position in the Premier League, will face ...
Abid Ali expresses his desire to meet and hug Sachin Tendulkar
Pakistan batsman Abid Ali has revealed his desire to meet the former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar and get some batting advice from the legendary cricketer."It will be the best day in my life when I meet him [Tendulkar] because he was one of the best batsmen," International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Ali, as saying."Definitely, I would like to hug him and I am sure that just like all great players meet youngsters I am sure that he will not turn me down. I am sure that if I want to get any information on cricket from Sachin, he will give a positive reply," he added.Ali confessed that he has been a huge fan of Tendulkar's batting style and followed Tendulkar's technique from day one of his career. Also, Ali compared Tendulkar to Pakistan greats, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf."Actually I have followed Sachin's technique from day one of my career and after watching him I tried to play like him. He was a great player, just like our own Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf," he ...
Haris Sohail feels his form is in good place since Australia series
Pakistan batsman Haris Sohail has said that his confidence and form have been in a good place since their five matches one-day series against Australia, which was played last month in the UAE."Since the Australia series, my confidence and form are in a good place," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Sohail, as saying.The left-hander missed several seasons amid his chronic knee injury.The latest frustrating setback came during their three Test match series against South Africa which commenced on December 26, forcing him to miss that whole tour and putting his World Cup berth in serious jeopardy.The 30-year old smashed unbeaten 101 in the first ODI against Australia and smashed his second ton in the fifth ODI, elevating his chances for getting a World Cup call.Sohail was Pakistan's leading run-scorer in that series which ultimately helped him secure a spot in Pakistan's preliminary 15-member World Cup squad which was announced on April 18.Sohail also expressed that he still struggles because of the ..
Parthiv's 53 propels Bangalore to a fighting total
Opener Parthiv Patel's (53 off 37) half-century followed by Moeen Ali's quick 16-ball 26 propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to 161/7 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Sunday.
Lahiri misses cut, Johnson in lead
Indian challenged at the RBC Heritage Golf Championship ended with Anirban Lahiri missing the cut with poor rounds of 72 and 74 even as Dustin Johnson led the field with 3-under 68. Lahiri has not had a single top-10 finish since Mayakoba Classic in November, 2018. In eight starts in 2019, he has missed three cuts and in the five cuts, his best performance has been tied 30th. Mwanwhile, Johnson shot sixth round in the 60s over the last two years at Harbour Town Golf Links' narrow fairways and smallish greens to reach 10 under. Johnson has a one-shot lead over Shane Lowry, Ian Poulter and Rory Sabbatini. Lowry led the first 48 holes before making three bogeys on his final six holes in a 71. Poulter shot a 67, and Sabbatini had a 68. Patrick Cantlay kept up his stellar weekend play and was two shots behind. Cantlay shot 64-68 last week at the Masters and had a 66 to lead a group of six at 8 under. Johnson, who's won 20 PGA TOUR titles, showed off other parts of his game that sometimes ..
Parthiv, Moeen prop up RCB to 161/7 vs CSK
Parthiv Patel's attacking half-century and Moeen Ali's final flourish wasn't enough as Royal Challengers Bangalore put up a sub-par 161 for 7 against Chennai Super Kings in an IPL encounter on Sunday. Parthiv smashed 53 off 37 balls but didn't get a lot of support from the other end until Moeen Ali used the long handle to hit 26 off 16 balls even as AB de Villiers (25 off 19 balls) and Akshdeep Nath (24 off 20 balls) delivered little after promising a lot. Deepak Chahar (2/25 in 4 overs) was impressive as usual while Ravindra Jadeja's (2/29 in 4 overs) twin breakthrough during partnership was also important in the context of the innings. Dwayne Bravo (2/34 in 4 overs) also chipped in with a couple of wickets in the end. Virat Kohli (9) hit a couple of boundaries before a thickish edge off a Chahar outswinger brought about his downfall. Mahendra Singh Dhoni took a nice catch behind the stumps. However Parthiv and AB de Villiers (25 off 19 balls) added 47 runs in only 4.2 overs with the
Annu, Parul open India's medal account; Dutee smashes own national record
Javelin thrower Annu Rani and 5000m runner Parul Choudhary won a silver and a bronze respectively as India opened its medal account on the opening day of the Asian Athletics Championships here Sunday. On a day which saw sprint sensation Hima Das suffer a lower back spasm while runner her quartermile event, Dutee Chand smashed her own national record in 100m dash to qualify for the semifinals. The 26-year-old Annu, who had won a bronze in the 2017 edition in Bhubaneswar, hurled the spear to a best distance of 60.22m to grab the silver. China's Lyu Huihui won the gold with an effort of 65.83m at the Khalifa Stadium. Annu's performance was, however, more than 2m short of her national record shattering effort of 62.34m during the Federation Cup at Patiala last month which gave her a berth in the World Championships to be held at the same venue in September-October. The other Indian in the fray, Sharmila Kumari finished seventh with a best throw of 54.48m. The 24-year-old Parul gave India .
Man Utd thrashed 4-0 by Everton in fresh blow to top four hopes
Manchester United's hopes of Champions League football next season suffered another huge blow as Everton romped to a 4-0 win at Goodison Park on Sunday. A sixth defeat in eight games in all competitions for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men means they remain two points adrift of the top four in sixth. Everton, chasing seventh, which could provide a route into next season's Europa League, made a flying start as Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson struck inside the first 28 minutes. Lucas Digne's sweet strike and Theo Walcott's goal completed Everton's biggest win over United since 1984. United could easily fall five points off the Champions League places should Arsenal beat Crystal Palace at home later on Sunday and Chelsea win when they host Burnley on Monday. Solskjaer's task in turning United's fortunes around does not get any easier as title-chasing Manchester City visit Old Trafford on Wednesday.